Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) Shares Purchased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) by 13.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 456,501 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,942 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Colgate-Palmolive were worth $41,501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Colgate-Palmolive by 4.6% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 112,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,677,000 after acquiring an additional 4,995 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Colgate-Palmolive by 1,460.9% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 672 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Colgate-Palmolive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $15,932,000. B&L Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $595,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Colgate-Palmolive during the third quarter worth approximately $207,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $111.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Colgate-Palmolive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Colgate-Palmolive from $92.00 to $83.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 price target (down previously from $110.00) on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $101.00 price target on shares of Colgate-Palmolive in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Colgate-Palmolive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.06.

Colgate-Palmolive Stock Down 0.5 %

CL stock opened at $92.73 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $75.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.40. Colgate-Palmolive has a 52 week low of $85.32 and a 52 week high of $109.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $89.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 13.40.

Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 31st. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.01. Colgate-Palmolive had a return on equity of 477.77% and a net margin of 14.38%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Colgate-Palmolive will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Colgate-Palmolive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from Colgate-Palmolive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Colgate-Palmolive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.09%.

Colgate-Palmolive announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, March 20th that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Colgate-Palmolive Profile

Colgate-Palmolive Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells consumer products in the United States and internationally. It operates through two segments: Oral, Personal and Home Care; and Pet Nutrition. The Oral, Personal and Home Care segment offers toothpaste, toothbrushes, mouthwash, bar and liquid hand soaps, shower gels, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants and antiperspirants, skin health products, dishwashing detergents, fabric conditioners, household cleaners, and other related items.